Iceland to become a model for freedom of communication

Paris, February 15th, 2009 - Tomorrow, a parliamentarian resolution will be submitted in Iceland in order to turn the country into a model for freedom of expression on the Internet. Far away from the conservative vision displayed by many confused governments who try to control freedom of communication on the Net through "three strikes", Internet blocking or the ACTA, this would be a historic event. La Quadrature du Net supports this project and congratulates the coalition of Icelandic Parliamentarians at the origin of the initiative. If repressive and authoritarian schemes were to prevail in our societies, Iceland would represent the ultimate refuge for the free circulation of information.

This parliamentarian resolution nicknamed "Icelandic Modern Media Initiative[4]"1 aims to initiate a legislative process in order to guarantee by law the freedom of expression and communication on the Internet. Source and whistleblower protections, libel law, "mere conduit" principle2 : this project would compile the best existing laws from across the world in order to provide the best protection to journalists and citizens against attempts to undermine freedom of communication through legal pressure. Thanks to this initiative, this country devastated by the financial crisis would make the choice of an original model of socio-economic development, based on the access to information rather than its control.

"This Icelandic legislative project is a major breakthrough. Refusing repressive conservatism and the temptation of big corporations and politicians to control the Internet, Iceland would become a haven for freedoms on the Internet. We must support this initiative so that freedom of expression, which is essential to the good functioning of our democracies, is fully protected on the Internet. With laws such as the French HADOPI and LOPPSI or the ACTA, we might all end up hosting and sending our data through Iceland.", states Jérémie Zimmermann, spokesperson for La Quadrature du Net.

2. Mere conduit is guaranteed by article 12 of the 2002 e-Commerce directive[5]. This principle sets a special liability regime for network operators by which they have no legal liability for the data transmitted via their networks